Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day. The time for couples - datings, marrieds, oops-I-had-a-babys, stalkersyndromes, hopefulromantics - to make their moves and ogle at their significant others like there's nothing else in the world. But this message is not for those couples. This message is for the ones left out of the party, painfully aware of their lower status in society. That's right, you. The singles.

I am here to tell you that there's nothing to be ashamed of as a single. Wear your hearts on your sleeve with pride. Because believe it or not, you've got an advantage over those lovey-doveys; while they're twirling around spewing affections toward each other, blissfully ignorant of the rest of the universe (themselves constituting an entire Big Bang and everything that follows), you singles don't have to devote yourself to one single entity quite so completely. You don't have to spend six months' allowance planning dinner with Her. You don't have to worry and fret in front of the mirror in order to appeal to Him. You're not inextricably tied to someone else.

Instead, you are free to look beyond, to explore the world and keep your eyes open to whatever madness is sent your way. Valentine's Day isn't just for romantic relationships, after all. It's for all forms of love, big and small. Your family. Your friends. The teacher who spent all night grading papers and then baking cookies for the class. The shopkeeper who passed out a red rose for every passerby on the street. Your pet dog. They deserve a small token of appreciation, every now and then, don't they? A card, a box of chocolates; or simply an honest smile, a "Thank you" and "Happy Valentine's Day!"

The person who hates Valentine's Day, single or not, is a sad and lonely person indeed. He/she doesn't realize that there's more meaning behind it than just paper hearts and uprooted flowers. Love is everywhere. You just have to offer some of it, too.

And you know what? If that's the true spirit of February 14th, I'd like Valentine's Day to be every day.

--Happy Valentine's Day! ♥
from the hopeless romantic (and very single) container of cheesy sap, VW